Saturday, December 31, 2016

Melozzo da Forli (Italian Renaissance artist, 1438-1494) Angel from the Vault of the Sacristy of Saint Mark January 29, 2011. "Without Melozzo, the work of Raphael and Michelangelo would have never existed.” This statement by Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, sums up the impact this renaissance painter had on some of the greatest Italian painters.

“Seeing in the New Year” from The book of Christmas illustrated by Robert Seymour 1836In both the Gregorian calendar, currently used in the United States, & the Julian calendar, which was used until 1752 in the British colonies, the last day of the year is December 31. In Europe, the mid-winter period was traditionally associated with feasting & parties. New Year’s Eve festivities can be traced back to celebrations in Europe that date back before Christianity spread. When many inhabitants in Europe were converted to Christianity, these festivals were merged with Christian beliefs & in time came to mark holidays such as the New Year’s Eve & New Year celebrations.In the early years of the American colonies & within the new republic of the United States, this type of celebration was often frowned upon, particularly by religious communities. Around the start of the 1900s, New Year's Eve celebrations in America started to appear. The first Ball drop in Times Square was held in 1907. Around the same time, special events, such as fireworks, to welcome the New Year in the United States started to be organized for December 31st.

In this blog, I try to begin each day with a painting of the Madonna & Child. It centers me; connects me to the past; & encourages me to post some of the religious paintings which were a large part of the core of early Western art. In the 4C, as the Christian population was rapidly growing & was now supported by the state, Christian art evolved & became grander to suit new, enlarged public spaces & the changing contemporary tastes of elite private clients.

Friday, December 30, 2016

Melozzo da Forli (Italian Renaissance artist, 1438-1494) Angel from the Vault of the Sacristy of Saint Mark January 29, 2011. "Without Melozzo, the work of Raphael and Michelangelo would have never existed.” This statement by Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, sums up the impact this renaissance painter had on some of the greatest Italian painters.

Unknown Master, Flemish (active around 1500 in Bruges)In this blog, I try to begin each day with a painting of the Madonna & Child. It centers me; connects me to the past; & encourages me to post some of the religious paintings which were a large part of the core of early Western art. In the 4C, as the Christian population was rapidly growing & was now supported by the state, Christian art evolved & became grander to suit new, enlarged public spaces & the changing contemporary tastes of elite private clients.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Melozzo da Forli (Italian Renaissance artist, 1438-1494) Angel from the Vault of the Sacristy of Saint Mark January 29, 2011. "Without Melozzo, the work of Raphael and Michelangelo would have never existed.” This statement by Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, sums up the impact this renaissance painter had on some of the greatest Italian painters.

1736 A Ball by Johann Franz Hörmannsperger (Austrian, 1710-) The musician’s hats are levitating!Dancing, wrote Philip Stubbs or Stubbes (c 1555 – 1610) in 1583, is altogether a “horrible vice.” In his work The Anatomie of Abuses, Stubbes decryed, “what clipping, what culling, what kissing and bussing, what smouching and slabbering of one another: what filthy groping and unclean handling is not practised everywhere in these dancings.” For dancing “provoketh lust, and the fires of lust, [which] once conceived...burst forth into the open action of whoredom and fornication.” In The Anatomie of Abuses, Philip Stubbs – a pamphleteer – rails against aspects of popular culture that he believes are immoral and in need of immediate reform if his fellow countrymen and women are to escape punishment from God. The subjects that come under his criticism include some expected transgressions – visiting prostitutes, lending money at interest, drinking and gluttony – plus others which are surprising – the wearing of fancy clothing, showy hats, the theater, sports, and dancing! His work summarizes "Notable Vices and Imperfections, as now raigne in many Countreyes of the World: but (especiallye) in a famous ILANDE called AILGNA," (Ailgna is another name for England.) Stubbes has been described as a Puritan (or at least exceedingly puritanical); but records indicate, that he supported the established Church.

Restrained Couples dancing with propriety in the Dance House of Augsburg, 1500See The British Library

Unknown Master, German (active in 1420s in the Lower Rhineland). The Holy Family with AngelsIn this blog, I try to begin each day with a painting of the Madonna & Child. It centers me; connects me to the past; & encourages me to post some of the religious paintings which were a large part of the core of early Western art. In the 4C, as the Christian population was rapidly growing & was now supported by the state, Christian art evolved & became grander to suit new, enlarged public spaces & the changing contemporary tastes of elite private clients.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Melozzo da Forli (Italian Renaissance artist, 1438-1494) Angel January 29, 2011.“Without Melozzo, the work of Raphael and
Michelangelo would have never existed.” This statement by Antonio Paolucci,
director of the Vatican Museums, sums up the impact this renaissance painter had
on some of the greatest Italian painters.

1383 Bartolo di Fredi, Nativity and adoration of the shepherdsThere were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger." Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,

It happened, when the angels went away from them into the sky, that the shepherds said one to another, "Let's go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in a manger. When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them. Luke 2:8-20

1451 Andrea Mantegna Adoration of the Shepherds

1510 Giorgione (Giorgio Barbarelli from Castelfranco 1477-1510) The Adoration of the Shepherds

One of my favorite Christmas stories is the annunciation to the lowly shepherds of the birth of the baby Christ child. Whom did the angels tell first? The community's outcasts, including some women working with the wool, who lived in the countryside year-round with dogs & sheep. And Mary welcomed them to visit her new baby. Only later did the important nobles arrive. The common man came first, and these lovely little illustrations imagine the stunned herders hearing the news.

Illuminated ManuscriptAnnunciation to the Shepherds Bean MS2 - Folio 75l Shepherds with their dogs and pipes.

Illuminated ManuscriptAnnunciation to the Shepherds comes from a 15th-century Flemish Book of Hours in the collection of Glencairn Museum (07.MS.639). Shepherds & their dog looking up at the angels.

Illuminated Manuscript Annunciation to the Shepherds Folio 52r from Les Belles Heures du Duc de Berry. The shepherds were sleeping in the field when angels appeared and told them of the birth of Jesus.Van Limburg brothers 1375 – 1416 The dog in this image is resting.

Illuminated Manuscript Annunciation to the Shepherds from a French Book of Hours (c.1425-50) The woman works with the wool while the dog looks up at the angels.

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On March 4, 2011, Emile de Bruijn of the National Trust in the UK, wrote on his blog "Treasure Hunt" of making history & art available to all: "Traditionally art history has been inherently elitist & exclusive, both socially & intellectually. Art tended to be commissioned by the upper classes. Connoisseurship was seen as a superior, refined skill & the products of art-historical scholarship were guarded almost as fiercely as the art itself."

On May 29, 1012, William Noel, now Director of Special Collections Center & Director of Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies. University of Pennsylvania, told The TED Blog, "...digital data is not a threat to real data, it’s just an advertisement that only increases the aura of the original, so there just doesn’t seem to be any point in putting restrictions on the data. There is the further fact that the data is funded by taxpayers’ money. So it didn’t seem fair to limit what taxpayers could do with the data that they paid for."

On February 7, 2017, Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced a new policy: all images of public-domain artworks in the Museum's collection are now available for free & unrestricted use. "We have been working toward the goal of sharing our images with the public for a number of years. Our comprehensive & diverse museum collection spans 5,000 years of world culture & our core mission is to be open & accessible for all who wish to study & enjoy the works of art in our care. Increasing access to the Museum’s collection & scholarship serves the interests & needs of our 21C audiences by offering new resources for creativity, knowledge, & ideas."